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Comparison · 2 models · Updated Oct 4, 2026

Step 3.5 Flash vs Ministral 3 3B

Ministral 3 3B comes out ahead, 74 to 62 on our weighted score, and it is the cheaper option too.

  1. StepFun

    Step 3.5 Flash

    Released Jan 29, 2026

    62/100
    • ECI—
    • Price$0.10 / $0.30
    • Context256K
    Full specs Remove Step 3.5 Flash
  2. Our pick

    Mistral AI

    Ministral 3 3B

    Released Dec 2, 2025

    74/100
    • ECI—
    • Price$0.10 / $0.10
    • Context262K
    Full specs Remove Ministral 3 3B

  3. Add a model

    Make it a three-way comparison.

01 — Verdict

Ministral 3 3B is our pick

Ministral 3 3B is the better all-round choice, scoring 74/100 against Step 3.5 Flash (62). It leads on price and inputs & features. The score weighs price 50%, inputs & features 30%, context window 20%. None of the shared benchmarks cover every model here yet, so capability is left out of this verdict.

  • CapabilityNot enough dataNo independent benchmark covers every model here yet
  • Lowest priceMinistral 3 3BMinistral 3 3B $0.10 · Step 3.5 Flash $0.15 per 1M tokens (3:1 blend)
  • Longest contextMinistral 3 3BMinistral 3 3B 262,144 · Step 3.5 Flash 256,000 tokens
  • Widest inputsMinistral 3 3BStep 3.5 Flash: Text · Ministral 3 3B: Text, Images
  • Self-hostingAll open weightsEvery model here can be downloaded and run on your own hardware
How the score is built
MeasureWeightStep 3.5 FlashMinistral 3 3B
Price50%8997
Inputs & features30%3560
Context window20%3637
Overall100%62/10074/100

Left out because at least one model lacks the data: capability. The remaining weights were rescaled.

02 — Side by side

Every spec in one table

Highlighted cells lead their row. Dashes mean the data is not published.

Step 3.5 Flash vs Ministral 3 3B specifications side by side
SpecificationStep 3.5 FlashStepFunMinistral 3 3BMistral AI
Capability
Capabilities Index (ECI)——
ECI rank——
Price per million tokens
Input$0.10$0.10
Output$0.30$0.10 (best)
Cached input$0.02—
Blended (3:1)$0.15$0.10 (best)
Long-context rateSame rateSame rate
Price sourceOfficial StepFun (Global) APIMedian of 1 providers
Limits
Context window256,000 tokens262,144 tokens (best)
Max output256,000 tokens262,144 tokens (best)
Inputs and features
TextYesYes
ImagesNoYes
PDFsNoNo
AudioNoNo
VideoNoNo
ReasoningYeslow · highNo
Tool callingYesYes
Structured outputNoYes
Availability
WeightsOpenOpenApache 2.0
API model IDstep-3.5-flash—
API providers8 (best)1
ReleasedJan 29, 2026Dec 2, 2025
Knowledge cutoffJan 2025—
03 — Cost

What would a month cost?

Enter your expected volume in millions of tokens. List prices only; caching and batch discounts would lower these.

  • Step 3.5 Flash$1.60
  • Ministral 3 3B$1.20
04 — Questions

Which should you choose?

Which is better: Step 3.5 Flash or Ministral 3 3B?

Ministral 3 3B is the better all-round choice, scoring 74/100 against Step 3.5 Flash (62). It leads on price and inputs & features. The score weighs price 50%, inputs & features 30%, context window 20%. None of the shared benchmarks cover every model here yet, so capability is left out of this verdict.

Which is cheaper, Step 3.5 Flash or Ministral 3 3B?

Ministral 3 3B is cheaper at $0.10 input / $0.10 output per million tokens (median across 1 API provider). Step 3.5 Flash costs $0.10 input / $0.30 output per million tokens (official StepFun (Global) API price). At a typical mix of three input tokens to one output token, that is $0.10 per million tokens for Ministral 3 3B versus $0.15 for Step 3.5 Flash (1.5× as much).

Which scores higher on benchmarks?

There is no independent benchmark that covers both models yet. Step 3.5 Flash has not been scored yet and Ministral 3 3B has not been scored yet.

Which is better for coding?

There are no published SWE-bench Verified results for Step 3.5 Flash and Ministral 3 3B yet, so there is no like-for-like coding score. Test both on a sample of your own tasks. Both support tool calling for agent workflows.

Which has the bigger context window?

Ministral 3 3B has the largest context window at 262,144 tokens, against 256,000 for Step 3.5 Flash. Maximum output per response: Step 3.5 Flash up to 256,000, Ministral 3 3B up to 262,144 tokens.

Which can read images, PDFs, audio or video?

Step 3.5 Flash accepts text; Ministral 3 3B accepts text and images. Ministral 3 3B handles the widest range of inputs.

Are any of these open source?

Yes, both publish their weights (Apache 2.0), so you can self-host them.

Which is newer?

Step 3.5 Flash is the newest, released Jan 29, 2026. Ministral 3 3B came out Dec 2, 2025. Knowledge cutoff: Step 3.5 Flash Jan 2025.

How do you decide the winner?

Each model gets a 0–100 score on capability (50%, independent benchmark results); price (25%, blended price per million tokens (3 input : 1 output), log scale); inputs & features (15%, image, PDF, audio and video input, tool calling, structured output and reasoning); context window (10%, maximum tokens per request, log scale). Dimensions missing for any model are dropped and the remaining weights rescaled, so every model is judged on the same evidence. Specs and prices come from public model listings and the labs’ own API pages; capability scores come from independent benchmark runs. Data updated Oct 4, 2026.

05 — Keep comparing

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